Jane's words: competence

This word meant something completely different in Jane Austen’s day, and as a modern reader it’s easy to mistake its meaning. Here’s the clue: it has nothing to do with being good at something.

Here’s the evidence in this description of Mr Weston, Frank Churchill’s father, from the novel Emma:

‘He had by that time realised an easy competence – enough to secure the purchase of a little estate adjoining Highbury, which he had always longed for – enough to marry a woman as portionless even as Miss Taylor…’

The meaning becomes clearer as you read on but it has nothing to do with Mr Weston’s talents or expertise or with being an able person. The word competence here means that Mr Weston is a man of means with an income large enough for him to live without working. Mr Weston, in Emma, isn’t fabulously wealthy but has enough to enjoy a good life without …